Best of luck Earl Will be thinking of you and everyone else who will be caught up in it all Thanks Andy
----Original Message Follows---- From: Captain Bijou <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Captain Bijou <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] This is Houston calling.... Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:20:17 -0500 I am firmly ensconced in my home in the Houston Heights planning to ride out the storm. No doubt, we'll lose power here for several days in Hurricane Rita's wake, so messages may be few and far between after tomorrow evening. I have been in contact with movie poster dealer Marc Schooley and his wife, Linda, are planning to ride out the storm in their Clear Lake home, though it is dangerously close to an anticipated flood area. Roy Bonario and wife, Fran, have already exited the city and are awaiting Rita's arrival in nearby Tomball, the same city in which Gene Arnold lives. I have not yet received contact from many of the city's movie memorabilia "oldtimers" including Willie Patterson, Ken Donnell, Glenn Kessler and Tony Smith. The news reports you have been seeing on television re: the traffic situation were accurate. Bumper to bumper for miles and miles. Many families had left with a full tank and ran out in traffic after inching along at a mile or so an hour. Hundreds of cars still dot the roadside awaiting a ration of gas being dispensed by fuel trucks from the Texas Department of Transportation. Efforts by the local authorities from the governor to hundreds of volunteers on down have been commendable given the scope and complexity of the evacuation...perhaps the largest in modern history. In the city, the surface streets are flowing smoothly, with little traffic. I had to take my wife to the airport earlier at six a.m. Thursday morning. We avoided the freeways and, being native Houstonians, made our way on surface streets. At that, it still took two hours for the trip which usually is only a 20 minute ride. Most folks are now awaiting the storm with determined resolution. I stopped off at my neighborhood Lowe's for some last minute items, and though it required an hour and a half to check out, their staff handled the crowds efficiently and courteously. Crowded yes...but orderly as well. Local stations have been on around the clock with continuing stories about the exodus, shortages, and flooding forecasts. Eagerly awaited is each half-hour's report on Hurricane Rita's tack. New co-ordinates... the latest position...projected path...areas of possible devastation. It is all consuming and surreal. Every activity for over four million people now centers on an unseen, powerful force that represented as a glob of brightly colored swirls on our TV screens. Its presence will known all too soon... In fact, we're starting to see the first scattered cloud cover. A light breeze, gusting periodically, is just starting to animate the bushes and trees. Yesterday, the temperature was a sizzling 100 degrees with little or no air movement. As I write this e-mail, the temperature is hovering around 84. Everything has been eerily quite Many inhabitants have fled the city, though I would estimate there are still nearly a substantial number of us remaining behind and scattered throughout the city. It's much like one of those end of the world sci-fi flicks where the hero wakes up to find the city emptied in advance of an invasion by robots, aliens or whatever. Those few remaining on my street are inside watching the developing hurricane news, the continuing stories of the traffic ordeal for evacuees and the tragic incident of a busload of elderly evacuees from the Houston community of Bellaire. In the distance I can still hear the whine of a power saw as it slices through plywood. One last minute detail...another window saved from shattering, perhaps?? As I was taking down the front porch swing a family of four came riding by on their bicycles. A sign of the normal...the routine...in most unusual times. Best, Earl Blair CAPTAIN BIJOU www.captainbijou.com Houston TX Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
